Praise for Girls Write Now
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More praise for Girls Write Now: “Warning: there is so much heart, intensity, guts, and sheer talent in these pages, you’re going to need to remind yourself to breathe.” —LYNN MELNICK “Each story here is a reminder that we build writers by not only believing that they have the talent and spirit it takes to write, but also by showing them how our very voices can influence the world.” —LISA LUCAS “Seeing these brilliant and driven young women take on the world through words gives me so much hope for the future, both of television and the world.” —JENNI KONNER “Frankly, I’m jealous of the young women who have Girls Write Now as a community and source of encouragement, and I wish I’d had that as a young book nerd, writing alone in my bedroom. Even now as an established writer, I’m so grateful for the hope it gives me.” —MORGAN PARKER “Electric, filled with more ideas, energy, and power than all the light bulbs in the Empire State Building. If these girls are the future, which of course they are, the future is glorious.” —EMMA STRAUB ∏IN HOUSE BOOKS / Portland, Oregon & Brooklyn, New York Copyright © 2018 Girls Write Now All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, contact: Tin House Books, 2617 NW Thurman St., Portland, OR 97210. Published by Tin House Books, Portland, Oregon and Brooklyn, New York. Distributed by W. W. Norton and Company. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available. ISBN 9781947793057 (Paperback) | ISBN 9781947793118 (ebook) First US Edition Printed in the USA Interior design by Diane Chonette www.tinhouse.com Table of Contents ROXANE GAY Dear Kanye, January 14th, Danni Green, 2012 ..................3 Adhan, Misbah Awan, 2016 ................................6 Step, Angelica Rozza, 2014 .................................8 Kiss Me, Clio Contogenis, 2010 ............................11 Hijabi or Jihadi? Romaissaa Benzizoune, 2016 .................13 Mott Street between Houston and Prince, Samantha Carlin, 2002 ...16 Model Minority Girl, Maggie Wang, 2017 ....................17 Hummingbird, Rocio Cuevas, 2009 .........................20 Life in Odd Numbers, Marquisele Mercedes, 2015...............21 Four Eyes, Kiara Kerina-Rendina, 2013.......................24 House Keys, Iemi Hernandez-Kim, 2004......................26 A Walk through My Life, Lauren Melendez, 2014 ...............27 FRANCINE PROSE Dear You, Julia Mercado, 2015 .............................31 Abuelo’s Porch, Marcela Grillo, 2012 .........................34 Three Moments in a High School Life, Emma Fiske-Dobell, 2010 ...36 The Places We Came From, Tashi Sangmo, 2009................38 Opening Up, Meek Thomas, 2016...........................41 The First 1,578 Days in New York City, Xiao Shan Liu, 2013 . 44 x Table of Contents Keeping Faith, Zahraa Lopez, 2016 ..........................46 Black, Rachel Aghanwa, 2015 ..............................48 The Hijabi, Nishat Anjum, 2013............................50 A Touch of Memory between Amsterdam and a Guy Named Columbus, Jasmine Holloway, 2008 ................................53 The Search, Idamaris Perez, 2012 ...........................55 The One I Need, Janiah Taylor, 2017.........................58 CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE Why Won’t You Stop!? Kirby-Estar Laguerre, 2016...............65 The Feminist in Me, Tuhfa Begum, 2014......................68 Saturday Morning, Mitzi Sanchez, 2011 ......................71 A Walk through Racism, Bianca Jeffrey, 2017...................74 Space, Tammy Chan, 2011 ................................76 Who Am I? Brittney Nanton, 2015 ..........................79 Stunned Silence, Winkie Ma, 2015 ..........................82 A Slight Misunderstanding, Joy Smith, 2011 ...................85 The Infamous Catcall, Rosemary Alfonseca, 2016 ...............87 We Protest with Thunder, Not Lightning, Soledad Aguilar- Colon, 2017 .........................................90 It Is Me: The Real Tianna C., Tianna Coleman, 2010 ............93 She’s a 7.8, Sarah Kearns, 2017 .............................95 ZADIE SMITH Dinner Time, Joanne Lin, 2011 ........................... 101 Every Little Thing, Calayah Heron, 2014 ....................102 Growing Up Now, Ebony McNeill, 2008 ....................105 Abandoned by Faith, Laura Rose Cardona, 2017 ...............107 Red Apple Pie, Michaela Burns, 2010 ....................... 110 It Rained Last Night, Yesenia Torres, 2012 ................... 112 Loving in New Ways, Ava Nadel, 2013 . 114 GIRLS WRITE NOW xi Inspiration from My Mother, Fanta Camara, 2013.............. 116 Mother, Jennifer Lee, 2016 ............................... 118 En Su Espejo, Luna Rojas, 2017............................123 Diamonds, Juleisy Polanco, 2017...........................126 Baby Things, Emely Paulino, 2010 .........................129 MIA ALVAR Chinese Food on My Chapped Lips, Lucy Tan, 2011 .............135 Write., Janae Lowe, 2015.................................137 Rising, Emily del Carmen Ramirez, 2013 ....................138 Joyful, Anglory Morel, 2017 ..............................140 Happiness in Compensations, Bushra Miah, 2014...............142 A Time for Healing, Marlyn Palomino, 2011.................. 145 The Photograph, Alexa Betances, 2016 ...................... 147 Still Looking, Ceasia King, 2010 . 149 Work, Shannon Daniels, 2014............................. 152 Noriko’s Postcards, Mona Haddad, 2009 .................... 155 The Rebirth of Shanai Williams, Shanai Williams, 2017 ......... 157 JANET MOCK Monolid Monologue, Becky Chao, 2011...................... 165 This Is My Dwelling, Amanda Day McCullough, 2012.......... 167 Where I’m From, Samantha White, 2008 .................... 170 My Vietnam, Sasha Goodfriend, 2009 ......................172 On Thermodynamics: A Reflection, En Yu Zhang, 2017.......... 174 Life in Senegal, Yvonne Ndiaye, 2010 .......................177 Autism Is..., Charlene Vasquez, 2015 ........................178 Requiem, Toni Bruno, 2007 .............................. 181 Forgiveness, Not Burden, Jiselle Abraham, 2017................184 All Over Again, Shirleyka Hector, 2014......................186 The Sky’s the Limit, Rayhana Maarouf, 2013..................190 xii Table of Contents LENA DUNHAM Made Out of Diamonds, Erin Pennill, 2008 ..................197 Easy-Bake Oven, Kiana Marte, 2017 ........................198 What’s Twenty Percent of Forty-Eight?, Ireen Hossain, 2011 ......201 Why Obsessions Matter, Diamond Abreu, 2017 ................204 Invasion of the Germs, Rashri Shamsundar, 2007 ..............206 Empire State, Brittany Barker, 2010 ........................209 Moving On, Ryan Marini, 2013 ........................... 210 Nagiti-Buitu, Suyapa Martinez, 2009.......................213 An Extroverted Introvert, Samantha Verdugo, 2017..............215 Taunting Little Jar of Sugar, Xena Leycea-Bruno, 2015 ...........218 37th Street, Fareena Samad, 2016 .......................... 220 GLORIA STEINEM By Grace, through Love, Grace Han, 2017 .................... 225 The Case of the Ugly Black Shoes, Valerie Pereyra, 2015 .......... 228 Baile De Idiomas, Sophia Chan, 2012 ...................... 231 Friends, Discrimination, Peace, Kimberley Garcia, 2017 ......... 232 Raw Beauty, Tiana Zuniga, 2015 .......................... 235 I’m Finally Home, Medelin Cuevas, 2016 . 238 Switching Beds, Rumer LeGendre, 2013 ..................... 240 My Search for Comfort, Paldon Dolma, 2014.................. 243 You’re (Not Quite) Hired, Ilana Schiller-Weiss, 2013 ........... 245 Sunday Call, Tina Gao, 2009 ............................. 248 Los Regalos de Angelitos, Emily Sarita, 2012 ...................251 Writing Out of My Shell, Zariah Jenkins, 2017 ................ 253 GIRLS WRITE NOW xiii QUIARA ALEGRÍA HUDES A Taste of Duck and Family, Priscilla Guo, 2011 ............... 259 A Woman with Power, Rochelle Smith, 2017.................. 261 Better to Be Ken Than Barbie, Rosalyn Santana, 2016...........264 Bubbly, Shanille Martin, 2014 ............................266 Erasing Race, Karla Kim, 2013 . 268 Conversations, Amy Zhang, 2015 .......................... 271 Days of Our Lives, Evelyn Berrones, 2011 .................... 275 Salt on Old Wounds, Sabrina Persaud, 2017 .................. 277 Black Cherry Soda, Samori Covington, 2014 ................. 280 Rebellious Streak, Ella Callahan, 2017....................... 281 My Neighborhood, Muhua Li, 2015 ......................... 284 ALICE WALKER Grilled Cheese, Kayla Glemaud, 2017 ....................... 289 My Father’s Home Is My Mother’s Prison, Rahat Huda, 2016 ..... 292 Is This America? Esther Kim, 2008 ......................... 295 Yellow Dress, Rachel Garcia, 2010 . 297 Warm Milk, Gia Deeton, 2017 ............................ 299 My Brother’s Name Is Ramon, Yolandri Vargas, 2009 ........... 302 Flying Bullets, E. Alfaro, 2012.............................304 Halloween, Flor Altamirano, 2010 ......................... 307 Grandma, Lashanda Anakwah, 2012 ....................... 309 The Dreams They Carried, Diana Romero, 2016 ...............311 In Search of Darker Planets, Eden Diamond Staten, 2017 .........314 “Everyone has a voice. It’s just a question of finding the courage to use it, and the first step in finding the courage is knowing that no matter who you are or how quiet you think your voice is, your voice matters. You’re never going to please everyone with what you say, but